MUMBAI :  Actor Viraf Patell, who plays the role of Nitin in the Aartie Miranni’s (Alter Ego Entertainment) short film The Elephant in the Room. 

“The film should be fun, a little crazy and more importantly an interesting ode to Shri Ganesha. This was not one of those roles that demanded any intense prep. In fact, the wackiness of the film needed me to tell my mind to shut up and have some fun with it. I guess that's all that we tried to do,” he says.

The metaphorical Elephant in the Room represents an obvious problem or difficult situation, says the actor, adding, “The longer you don't talk about the elephant in the room, the bigger it seems to get, I think the film manages to land that as well.” 

Talking about his relationship with Ganpati, he says, “I grew up in a Parsi family and colony, but my dad always took me as a kid to the Dastur Meher road pandal in Pune during Ganesh Chaturthi. I used to be wide eyed and filled with wonder when I would see the power of faith and the colours on display. Today, in Mumbai there is a local community Ganpati that invites and welcomes me and my wife Salonie every year. Then when I became an actor, I observed that every day of shoot begins with a Ganpati pooja. One of my closest school friends is named Shri Ganesha. I can't escape Ganesha! Neither do I want to. It's less about godliness and more about integrating with the humanity around me. That's holy enough for me I guess.”

Ask him if he keeps Ganpati at home, and he says, “Haven't started practicing yet. Perhaps due to my non ritualistic learnings as an individual. But I make sure I visit my friend’s Ganpati and eat up all their food, including Aartie Miranni’s. I am sure Ganesha is proud of me.”

Talking about working with producer Aartie Miranni, he says, “Aartie keeps surprising me with her love for stories and her resolve to take her stories out there. I am glad she has Nitin in her corner, who I choose to suffer as a friend just because I enjoy his humour. But jokes apart. I once nudged Aartie to produce a short film and here she has done it. I am excited about what she does next. Jai Shri Ganesh.”

The short film will stream on Humaramovie YouTube Channel from 19th September. It is directed  by Krishan Hooda, Presented by Alter Ego Entertainment, produced by  Aartie Miranni & Prakash Moolani and Dialogue and Screenplay is by Neeltarni Pratap. The Elephant In The Room star cast includes Daisy Shah, Viraf Patell, Nitinn R Miranni, Salonie Patel, Pratiksha Sen, Akanksha Pandey and Sankalp Joshi.